Saving Dr Merar
by Vol lady
Summary: Follows Something in Between. After Jarrod faints in the courtroom from overwork, Dr. Merar orders him to take several weeks off. Jarrod follows instructions, comes back rested and fit, but finds it's the doctor now who needs rescuing from a couple armed robbers.
1. Chapter 1

Saving Dr. Merar

Chapter 1

"Come on, Jarrod, wake up," the voice said, commanded. Jarrod did his best to pry his eyes open, but they seemed to be stuck. It wasn't until the rest of him started to feel things – like this bed was awfully hard – that he was able to awaken.

But when he tried to sit up, a hand on his chest held him down. "Not so fast. Take it slow."

Slow? Jarrod looked and saw faces coming into focus, faces he hadn't expected to see – Sheriff Madden and Judge Farnham. He was awake in a flash but they wouldn't let him sit up. His head rested on something soft but it wasn't a pillow, and he suddenly realized the bed was hard because it wasn't his bed. He was on the floor, with someone's coat under his head.

Judge Farnham and Sheriff Madden. Jarrod realized where he was. He was flat out on the courtroom floor. "What the – "

"You fainted," Sheriff Madden said.

Jarrod's eyes went wide. "Fainted?"

"Curled up your toes and went right down," the sheriff said, easing back on his haunches.

"Don't worry, the trial was over and practically everyone had left," Judge Farnham said. "We cleared the courtroom. There's no one here now but the sheriff and I."

Jarrod tried to get up again, but Sheriff Madden still kept him down. "Stay still. You hit your head on the defense table when you went down. The bailiff's gone for the doctor."

Jarrod reached for his temple and his fingers came away bloody. "Why in the world would I faint?"

The sheriff and the judge looked at each other with expressions that said _He's kidding, right? _"Maybe it has something to do with you working yourself near to death lately," Sheriff Madden said. "And knowing you, you haven't been eating right either – remember how you get when you don't eat."

"I don't pass out," Jarrod said.

"Well, you got a little disoriented before you passed out," the judge said. "As you were packing up to leave, you kept looking around the courtroom for your horse and your – what was it, Fred? His muzzle?"

"Your muzzle," Sheriff Madden agreed.

"That doesn't make any sense," Jarrod said.

"That's why your gonna stay right here on the floor until the doc has a look at you," Sheriff Madden said.

Jarrod was still woozy and unclear, so maybe they were right. Maybe he should just stay put. But then the urge to look for his fishing rod came over him, and he tried to get up again. By the time he knew what was happening again, the doctor was kneeling beside him, saying, "His fishing rod? What else has he been asking about?"

"His horse and his muzzle," Sheriff Madden said.

Dr. Merar shined a light into Jarrod's eyes. "Jarrod, when did you eat last?"

"I don't know," Jarrod said. The world seemed to go underwater.

Dr. Merar had the bailiff go to the café across the street for a glass of orange juice, and in another fifteen minutes or so, Jarrod had drunk some and was sitting up, feeling better. Feeling very embarrassed.

Especially when the doctor's lecture started up. "All right, here's what I believe is going on. You have had a rough couple of years and you've thrown yourself into your work so much you've forgotten how you get when you don't eat right and don't get enough rest. So now you've fainted dead away in the courtroom. You've got a bump on your head, but I don't think it's bad. But the rest of you is bad! We're going to get you on your feet and walk you over to my office. I'm going to have a thorough look at you and we're going to figure out how to keep you from dropping dead in the courtroom next time, not just fainting. Got that?"

Jarrod felt about ten years old. "Yes, sir," he said.

As they helped him to his feet, he apologized to Judge Farnham for the inconvenience. Sheriff Madden gathered Jarrod's papers and briefcase together, and he and the doctor walked Jarrod over to the doctor's office. Jarrod felt even more embarrassed when he saw all the people looking at him as they crossed the street. _At least Nick isn't here_, Jarrod thought.

"Jarrod!"

Jarrod moaned to hear the voice. Nick was here.

"What's going on? What happened?" Nick asked.

"Nothing," Jarrod said.

"He fainted in the courtroom," the sheriff told Nick. "Doc says he hasn't been eating right."

"Aw, Jarrod, you know how you get," Nick began to chew him out as he joined them in walking to the doctor's office.

"I'm all right," Jarrod said. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"I went to the bank," Nick said. "Good thing I am here. It looks like I'm gonna have to drive you home."

"I'm all right," Jarrod repeated and wiped the blood running down his face away.

Nick gave the sheriff a look, and Sheriff Madden gave it right back. They agreed, Jarrod got the main dose of that damned Barkley stubbornness.

XXXXXXXX

About an hour later, Nick tied his horse to the buggy Jarrod had driven into town and the two of them settled down to head home. Nick drove. Having had a sandwich now on top of the orange juice, Jarrod was sensible again, but tired. Tired not just because of his blood sugar dropping. Tired because he had endured embarrassing looks from everyone in town and two very long lectures from the doctor.

"What are you gonna tell Mother?" Nick asked as they left town.

"I think the question is, what are you gonna tell her?" Jarrod asked.

"Oh," Nick said, "that they scraped you up off the courtroom floor because you fainted – "

"Don't use the word 'fainted'."

"Why not? It's what you did. I'll tell Mother your blood sugar dropped on you again because you haven't been eating right and you've been working too hard and Dr. Merar told you that you needed a week of complete rest and then a month of no legal work or the next time you might drop dead instead of fainting."

"Don't say 'drop dead,'" Jarrod said. "I took a rest when Heath and I went to New York. I'm not gonna drop dead."

"That's been months ago. Traveling that far has stress of its own, and God alone knows what the two of you got into back there," Nick said. "You've thrown yourself into work since you got back and you're worn out, and the doctor told me exactly how it is with you. Mother needs to know what's going on. I'm not gonna be worrying by myself."

Jarrod looked over at him and realized the doctor had probably scared Nick more than he'd scared him. "I'm sorry, Nick. I guess I'm not taking this seriously enough. It's just that I have a lot to do over the next few weeks – "

"Look," Nick cut him off. "You've had a bad year or two. You've had a some really serious injuries to recover from, and a terrible loss when Beth was killed, not to mention everything after that. And Julia Saxon, and that mess you got yourself into with Anita and Mary Ann and God knows who else which I hope at least you've straightened out from - "

"All right, all right," Jarrod said. He didn't like to think about the problems fate had handed him or he'd gotten himself into over the past couple years. He had started and ended a string of casual affairs after his wife died and he was still struggling with himself and his attitude after one of his partners was murdered. Life had tangled him up and while he had stopped the affairs, he had thrown himself into work instead - probably too much. He had to admit he was still getting untangled and not doing a great job of it. "I'm doing better, just not good enough, I guess."

Nick said, "Your way of dealing with problems is to give yourself more problems. You need to eat right and get more rest and take some time away from all the work you've gotten into. You don't have the easiest job in the world, you know."

"I know," Jarrod said. "I didn't know _you_ knew."

"And if you don't do all that, you're not gonna be worth much as a lawyer even if you don't drop dead."

"I hear you, Nick."

"Good. Now, you get ready to tell Mother what the doctor said, and all of it, because I'll fill in whatever you leave out. You resign yourself to staying at the house and resting for the next week while Silas takes charge of your eating habits, and then you figure out what you're gonna do with the month after that."

Jarrod sighed. "Nick, I really don't want to take a month off."

"I know you don't. You want to keep driving yourself so you don't have to think about everything that's happened lately, and just because that's what you've always done, but remember what driving yourself after Beth died did to you. You never did let yourself recover from that, and the first person who would chew you out if she knew about it is Beth."

Jarrod had to admit, Nick was right about that. Although they'd never even had a chance to have a fight or get anywhere close to one, Jarrod knew his wife had been a strong, firm woman. She'd have had at him if she knew what his life had turned into after she was killed. He was embarrassed again, and just thinking about her sent a wave of grief over him. He was starting to feel dizzy again.

"And one more thing," Nick said. "You gotta back off the liquor. Maybe you can hide the fact you've been drinking too much from Dr. Merar, but you're not hiding it from me and Heath, and you sure aren't hiding it from Mother and Audra. We've been waiting for you to bring yourself around, but we're not gonna be waiting anymore. You got your last warning today. You take better care of yourself, or you're gonna kill yourself. Or we're gonna kill you."

Jarrod quit listening, but he knew what Nick was saying anyway. And he was right. "All right, Nick," Jarrod said when the sound coming his way had stopped. "Complete rest for a week, letting Silas feed me right, easing off the drinking – I'll do it all. But what the heck I would do with myself for a month after that if I'm not working – "

Nick grinned. "I got an idea about that."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"What in the world - ?" Victoria blurted the moment she saw the bandage on Jarrod's forehead. "What happened to you?"

Jarrod took a deep breath, trying to figure out how to put this, but Nick wouldn't wait for him to dress up the facts. "He fainted in the courtroom and hit his head on the table," Nick said.

"What?!" Audra blurted out.

"I'm all right," Jarrod said quickly. "I saw the doctor. He looked me over and said my blood sugar had dropped. I got some food into me and I'm all right."

Nick took Jarrod's hat from him, and then took it and his own hat and gun into the hall to hang them up, saying, "Tell them the rest."

"What 'rest'?" Victoria asked.

"The rest the doctor says I need to take," Jarrod said, switching the meaning of the word just to prove he still had his wits about him. "I need a week of complete rest and then a month of no legal work, doing something else, or I could seriously threaten my health."

Nick decided he'd keep quiet as he rejoined them. "Seriously threatening my health" was just as good as, and more gentle than, "or else I'm going to drop dead."

"I saw Bill North while the doctor was checking Jarrod over," Nick said. "He'll take Jarrod's cases for the next six weeks."

"Six weeks?" Audra said, shocked, and she and her mother traded looks that said the same thing. _Jarrod being off for six weeks is going to drive us all crazy_.

"Is Heath here yet?" Nick asked.

Heath came down the stairs on cue, cleaned up and in fresh clothes after coming in from the range. "I'm here," he said. Then he saw the bandage on Jarrod's forehead. "Don't you look pretty? What happened?"

"He fainted in court," Nick said.

"All right, all right," Jarrod protested. "We've established I fainted in court and I'm thoroughly embarrassed," he said and headed for the refreshment table.

"Uh – " Nick said, following him, standing close when Jarrod reached for the scotch.

Jarrod got the message. He went to his thinking chair without a drink and took a seat.

"No liquor tonight, in case that bump on the head isn't as little as we think," Nick said, "and he's going to back off drinking in general. Not doctor's orders – Nick's orders."

"I suppose we knew it would come to this," Victoria said, sitting on the settee with Audra.

"All right, all right," Jarrod said again. "I'm stubborn and I've needed you all to take me in hand, so I give in. I will rest completely for the next week, and I will go easy on the liquor, and then for the next month – do you want to do the honors, Nick?"

"He's gonna be out there with me and Heath, riding herd, fixing fence, digging out stumps and generally wearing himself out in a good way," Nick said.

"Are you sure that's what the doctor had in mind?" Victoria asked.

"I asked him while Jarrod was getting dressed," Nick said. "He said it sounded good as long as Jarrod didn't overdo. I'll boss him good and he'll be fine." Nick smiled.

Jarrod gave him a look. "You're gonna enjoy this, aren't you?"

"Oh, you bet I am, Pappy," Nick said. "Having you take orders from me for a month will probably do more for my attitude than yours."

"Do I get to ride herd on him too?" Heath asked.

Jarrod groaned.

But Victoria and Audra both smiled. "As long as the doctor is on board with this, I am too," Victoria said.

Jarrod groaned again, but inwardly he actually smiled. Maybe taking orders from Nick was going to be a pain, but the fresh air, the change from office work, the time spent with his brothers instead of with irritating opposing lawyers and needy clients – it sounded awfully good. And everyone was right about how he needed to be treating himself. He was exhausted, mentally as well as physically, and he had been drinking too much and eating too poorly and letting his introspective tendencies overwhelm him. He needed to buck up and take better care of himself physically. Now he was going to have the luxury of the time to do it.

XXXXXXXX

Resting for a week wasn't as dreadful a proposition as anyone feared. Jarrod was a very cooperative patient, allowing Silas to regulate what and how much he ate, allowing his Mother to regulate how long a walk he'd take or whether he'd have a ride with Audra, even allowing Audra to order him to take a nap once or twice. By the end of the week of complete rest, Jarrod had to admit, to himself and everyone else, that he was feeling stronger, more fit, more awake, and happier.

"Good, then you're ready to dig some post holes tomorrow," Nick said as the family enjoyed drinks together.

Jarrod had backed off the alcohol on his own, allowing himself about an ounce of scotch while the family socialized and one glass of wine with dinner and that was all. He intended to keep his drinking at that level, except maybe for special occasions. When Nick announced he'd be on post hole digging duty the next day, Jarrod actually toasted him. "I'm ready, Brother Nick. But actually, you know, we haven't discussed my salary for this time I'll be working for you."

"Salary?" Nick asked, incredulously.

"Well, since I'll be working for you, I figure I'd better get paid," Jarrod said. "Not that I expect you to pay my attorney's fees."

"You bet I won't," Nick said. "A dollar a day, like everybody else."

"You don't pay me that much," Heath said.

Nick gave him a phony sneer that made Heath smile. "You get a cut of the profits," Nick said, "and so do you, come to think of it, Counselor."

"Ah, but I contribute a portion of my earnings as an attorney to the family," Jarrod said. "Since I won't be earning any attorney's fees for the next month, and I'll be taking your orders, I figure I should get what I earn as your employee. And just to be fair about it, you can put my dollar a day in the family jar. How does that sound?"

"Fair enough," Nick said. "You just be up and rearing to go at five o'clock."

"I'll be ready," Jarrod said.

XXXXXXX

Later in the evening, after dinner, Victoria cornered Jarrod alone in the library. He was about to open a law book. "Put that away," Victoria said quickly.

Jarrod jumped, startled, but closed the book with a sheepish grin. "Sorry. I just thought of something and figured I could look it up quickly."

"And no one would catch you?"

Jarrod nodded. "And no one would catch me."

Victoria reached for his hand. He got up and let her take him to the sofa, where they sat down together. To Jarrod, it was clear Victoria had something in particular to say. "This working for Nick for the next month or so," Victoria said. "I trust you're not going to let this get out of hand."

"Out of hand how?" Jarrod asked.

"My darling, you are the oldest son. You have been the boss for a long time, but not out in the field."

Jarrod chuckled. "Mother, I've worked for Nick before and I know who the boss out there is."

"But you've never worked for him for this long a period of time," Victoria said. "And Nick can be a tough boss."

Jarrod nodded. "I know that."

"Don't let him get to you, and don't you go thinking you can override him. He and Heath have developed a good working relationship. You're about to upset that balance just by being there for so long."

"No, I'm not," Jarrod said quickly. "Remember? I'm giving up the stress of running anything for an entire month. Doctor's orders."

"That doesn't mean you will give it up," Victoria said. "Old habits die hard."

Jarrod took her hand. "Stop worrying. I won't try to boss Nick around. I'll be a good employee for the entire time I'm out there. Nick and Heath run the show. I do what I'm told."

"You'd better," Victoria said, "because if that's not the way it happens, I'm the one Nick will come screaming to, and I don't want to hear it."

She said that so politely that Jarrod had to laugh and kiss her cheek. "You won't hear it. I'll be a good little cowboy."

Victoria smiled. "And I'll remember you said that."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Break time!"

Jarrod scowled when Nick yelled. He had just set a new fence post and was ready to set the next one. "We just got started!"

Nick brought a canteen over to him. "One thing I forgot to mention. When I told the doctor I was gonna bring you out here, he said you should take frequent breaks."

"But once an hour?" Jarrod complained.

"For a spell," Nick said.

Jarrod took a drink. Heath handed him a towel and took the canteen from him for his own drink. As he toweled off, Jarrod said, "You're enjoying the heck out of this, aren't you?"

Both Nick and Heath grinned. Nick said, "Oh, yes, I am, Pappy."

Jarrod looked to Heath. "Aren't you gonna help me out here?"

Heath shook his head. "I'm not the one who talked to the doctor."

"I'm just passing on the orders I got," Nick said. "Go, sit down on the bed of that buckboard for a couple minutes."

"Aw, Nick – " Jarrod complained again.

Nick just pointed.

Jarrod did as he was told, taking the canteen from Heath and wandering the fifty feet or so to where the buckboard sat. He sat up in the bed and drank some more water.

"He's doing better than I thought he would so far," Heath said.

"Yeah, that week of doing nothing was good for him," Nick said. "That brain work he does for a living is harder on a man than I thought."

"I know I'd rather be out here setting fence," Heath said.

"Then set some!" Nick said.

Heath saluted. "Yes, sir, boss."

The short breaks every hour were nothing compared to Jarrod's reaction when Nick told him he had to go in at the heat of the day. "What?!" Jarrod railed. "I haven't been out here but five hours, and you sat me down every hour even then!"

"Doctor's orders," Nick said.

"What other side deal have you got going on with the doctor that I don't know about?" Jarrod got right up into Nick's face.

Two inches taller, Nick just looked down at his older brother. "No other side deals, just the break every hour and in after five hours, at least for the first week you're out here."

Jarrod grabbed a towel and dried off, then grabbed his shirt and put it back on. "I'm not an invalid, you know," he muttered. "I'm not gonna keel over."

"You sure about that?" Nick said. "I'll bet you didn't think you were gonna keel over in the courtroom, either."

Jarrod just grumbled. Nick was right about that.

"Tell you what, Big Brother," Nick said. "We'll be riding herd tomorrow. I won't insist on breaks any more than every other hour, and I'll give you five and half hours before I send you in."

Jarrod sneered a "thanks a lot" sneer.

"IF!" Nick said as Jarrod put his hat on and mounted up. "If you be honest with me and let me know if you're feeling the heat or just tiring out."

The way Nick said that, the look on his face, made Jarrod remember that Nick wasn't trying to be irritating. Nick was just trying to take care of him. Jarrod nodded, saying, "All right, Nick. You're the boss." And he rode off for home.

Nick smiled to watch him go, and Heath smiled at Nick. "I know you're just looking out for him," Heath said, "but you are enjoying yourself, too."

Nick said, "When we were kids – I was about eight, he was about twelve – our father brought me out here for the first time and put Jarrod in charge of me. Now, he's getting so old and decrepit I don't know if he remembers or not, but I'm doing to him _exactly_ what he did to me with these breaks every hour and having to go in at the heat of the day. Just don't remind him about that. He feels babied enough as it is. And," Nick admitted more seriously, "you didn't see him after he took that header in the courtroom. The doc's more worried about him than Jarrod's letting on. I'm not gonna let him work himself to death, either in there or out here."

"That bad? Does Mother know that?"

"He didn't use the words the doctor used, but yeah, she got the message. And if he keels over out here, it's _me_ she's gonna come after, and I don't want to see that."

Heath whistled. "Me neither."

XXXXXXX

Jarrod had gotten over his irritated spell by the time he got home, admitting to himself that Nick was right in pacing him. If he was going to recover from the harm he'd done himself after Beth died, and from everything since, he was going to need to build himself back up on a reasonable schedule. Besides, it was getting uncomfortably hot. A bath and a cold lemonade sounded enticing.

His mother and sister were a little worried he'd be out of sorts, having to come in so soon, but Jarrod was blessedly cheerful as he headed up to the wc for the bath. It wasn't long before he was actually singing in there – "Landlord, fill the flowing bowl until it doth run over! For tonight we'll merry merry be, for tonight we'll merry merry be, for tonight we'll merry merry be! Tomorrow we'll be sober!"

Caught coming down the stairs when Jarrod burst into song, Audra smirked. In the living room mending a shirt, Victoria hadn't heard him. "Jarrod is singing," Audra told her.

Victoria smiled. "That's good. I was afraid taking orders for his health from Nick would send him snarling, not singing."

Audra sat down with her mother. "He's certainly more cheerful than he's been for a long time. If this works out, maybe we ought to suggest he take some time off from lawyering and go work in the field every six months or so."

"Perhaps we should," Victoria said. "Just don't suggest we bring Nick in from the field and let him do legal work every now and then."

"I wouldn't dare," Audra said.

Jarrod came down after a while, clean and shaven with a happy lift in his step. Still working on mending clothing, Victoria and Audra smiled. Jarrod turned for the kitchen, saying, "Who wants lemonade?"

"I do!" Audra said.

"A pitcher and three glasses, coming up," Jarrod said as he disappeared into the hallway.

In a moment he was in the kitchen and trying not to get into Silas's way. The houseman was cutting up vegetables for dinner. Jarrod was tempted to steal a piece, but he decided to behave and instead fetched a pitcher of lemonade from the ice box. He knew Silas would have some ready there.

"How you feelin' after a good day's work, Mr. Jarrod?" Silas asked.

"Well, as soon as I put in a full day, I'll tell you, Silas," Jarrod said. He put the pitcher on one of the counters as he fetched and tray and glasses. "Nick rode herd on me and made me come in early – not that I'm complaining, mind you. I started to complain, but then I admitted to myself that Nick is just looking after me and besides – he's having a good time bossing me around, so I'll let him."

Silas laughed. "It's good to hear you cuttin' up, Mr. Jarrod."

"Have I been that sullen?" Jarrod asked, seriously.

"Not sullen," Silas said. "Just tired. You been workin' way too hard."

"So I'm beginning to understand," Jarrod said. "It's funny. You don't really notice it while you're doing it. You just keep doing it until you stop and then you realize it was rough on you."

"Like beatin' your head against a wall," Silas said. "It feels so good when you stop."

Jarrod laughed and lifted the tray. "Very true, Silas, very true," he said.

He took the tray into the living room and put it down on the coffee table. "That looks wonderful," Victoria said.

She and Audra put their work aside as Jarrod poured lemonade for them, and then for himself. "Nick has me riding herd tomorrow," Jarrod said, "and staying out a little longer. Don't be alarmed if I'm not back in this early."

"Are you holding up all right?" Audra asked.

"Better than all right," Jarrod said. "This is good for me. Even last week was good for me. I needed the rest, and I've needed the exercise."

"You've needed to cut back on the drinking, too," Victoria said, "and I'm glad you have."

"I've needed a to take a lot better care of myself," Jarrod admitted. "I apologize, ladies, for being such an obstinate army mule for so long. I wasn't doing myself any good, and I'm coming to realize I wasn't doing you any good, either. It just took the embarrassment of passing out in the courtroom for me to come to my senses. Please forgive me."

Victoria smiled as Jarrod looked up into her eyes. "Audra and I were saying a little while ago that perhaps you ought to be taking a break to work in the field every six months or so."

"That might be more frequent than my practice will allow," Jarrod said, "but I'll definitely plan on a working ranch vacation more often than I have been. I promise."

The women chuckled. They'd believe that when they saw it.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Weeks of riding herd, rebuilding fences and digging up stumps made a big difference for Jarrod. His cheerfulness kept up. His energy level continued to increase. He was able to put in full days with his brothers, with breaks only every two or three hours.

His shirts did begin to get snug through the upper arms and chest, and he found he had to borrow a work shirt from Heath. His normally ruddy complexion turned even darker in the sun. But most important, he was healthier.

At the beginning of his last week working as a wrangler, Victoria took him aside after dinner, out onto the Verandah, saying, "I'm really proud of you. You've really listened to what the doctor said and you've listened to Nick and the rest of us. Now all you have to do is keep it up after you go back to work in the office."

"Well, things will have to slip a bit then," Jarrod said. "I can hardly keep up this level of strength and energy when I'm behind a desk rather than being out in the field."

"But you can keep your drinking down and pay more attention to how you eat."

"And I will. I can also put the lawyering away on weekends and work in the field to keep fit. I'll have to reduce my workload but I can do that. I know it's been a rough couple years for me and so it's been rough for all of you, but it's behind me now."

"No more passing out in the courtroom – and no dropping dead?"

Jarrod knew for the first time that Victoria knew exactly what the doctor had told him, that he risked sudden death if he didn't change his ways. Looking sheepish, Jarrod kissed his mother on the forehead. "I will certainly do everything I can to keep from keeling over in the courtroom again, or anywhere else, for any reason."

Victoria smiled. "You're going to miss it, aren't you? Working with Nick and Heath?"

"Yes, I will," Jarrod admitted. "Maybe not as much as Nick is gonna miss bossing me around, but I'll miss it."

"Jarrod, have you ever regretted than I pushed you into the law?"

Jarrod squeezed her. "Oh, Mother, you didn't push me anywhere. You suggested and I thought you had a good idea. And no, I haven't regretted being a lawyer, not one bit. I know it makes my life a lot different from everyone else's around here, but I like it. I've enjoyed it. And before you ask, no, I'm not interested in giving it up to be a cowpoke."

Victoria chuckled. "So, what are your plans after this week is over?"

"I need to go back into the office, and once I square things away there, I need to go to San Francisco and see to my practice there," Jarrod said.

Victoria looked disappointed. "I hope you won't be gone too long."

"You're worried I'll slip back into my bad habits, aren't you?"

Victoria leveled a serious gaze his way. "You'll be tempted, either by habit or because you have too much waiting for you, or just because of the society around you."

"I know it'll be hard," Jarrod said, "but I know I can keep eating right and staying easy on the liquor. I know I can keep those things up."

"Please, do," Victoria said. "You seem like you've felt so much better this past month, I don't want to see you so stressed again."

Jarrod kissed her on the forehead again. "You won't. I promise."

XXXXXXXX

The following Monday morning, Jarrod went back to Stockton for the first time. He wasn't able to wear his usual business suit – he had worked himself into such muscles that his dress shirts wouldn't fit anymore, and Heath only had the one that Jarrod didn't want to risk wearing. Besides, even his suit jackets were too tight. He figured he'd fit back into them once he wasn't working in the field every day, so for now he just threw his more casual jacket over the work shirt Heath had lent him and took himself into town that way. Since he didn't have anything scheduled in court, he figured he could get away with it.

He stabled his horse and first went to the sheriff's office. He found the sheriff posting new wanted posters on his wall. "Well, well!" the sheriff said, smiling to see him. "You're looking human again."

"How are you, Fred?" Jarrod asked.

The sheriff backed away from his wall of posters. "As busy as ever, but maybe I ought to go out and work with your brothers for a while. It looks like it's done wonders for you."

"It has," Jarrod said, "and I hope the doctor agrees so he'll let me go back to work."

"You gonna go see him?"

"Yeah, before I go into the office. I'm feeling great. I don't think he'll have any objections to me getting back into my normal life." Jarrod took a look at the posters on the wall. None of them looked familiar. "I've been out of circulation, that's for sure."

"There's a couple to be worried about in particular up there," Sheriff Madden said. "The Woolsey brothers – they're wanted for armed robbery and murder - and that Malichi Ellison fellow were both spotted in the area. Not brought in though. And that Peck guy – killed two men up near Lodi and nobody knows where he is."

"Business as usual," Jarrod said, gave a last hard look at the faces on the wall – where the posters had faces – and turned away. "I just wanted you to know I was heading back to work. You can assume I'm in my office if I don't come back and tell you the doctor told me to go back home."

"I'll pass that on to people looking for you. You have been missed."

Jarrod smiled. "It's nice to know I might still have some business coming my way."

Jarrod left the sheriff and headed for Dr. Merar's office. The good doctor had told him to stop by before he planned to resume his office work, just so the doctor could have a quick look at him. Jarrod was sure he would pass muster. He hadn't felt this good in years – maybe wearing Heath's shirt was helping him to feel ten years younger. Jarrod passed a few people on the street who gave him a "hello" or a "welcome back." They made him feel even better than he already felt.

Dr. Merar was just as happy to see him. "By George, you look like a new man!"

"I am one," Jarrod said. "I'm hoping you'll confirm it so I can get back to my real job. You'll be breaking Nick's heart, but you'll be making me happy."

"Well, come on into my examining room and let's have a good look."

Jarrod followed him in, and Dr. Merar closed the door. Jarrod took his jacket and shirt off, then hopped up to sit on the examining table.

Dr. Merar put his stethoscope into his ears and checked Jarrod's heartbeat and breathing. "By golly, your heart rate has slowed down noticeably, and it's stronger too. Your breathing is good. Let's look at those eyes."

The doctor gave him a thorough going over. Jarrod's thoughts started to drift to what he might find in his office waiting for him. He really was anxious to get back to his law practice.

Dr. Merar said, "You've put some muscle on."

"You can't help it when you're digging postholes and lifting posts and chopping wood," Jarrod said. "I'm wearing one of Heath's shirts because mine don't fit anymore."

Dr. Merar laughed. "You better get some larger ones made. Once it's built up like this, it takes a while for muscle to go back down."

"I'll check things out. I might even need a new court suit."

Dr. Merar finished looking him over and Jarrod redressed. Dr. Merar said, "I want you to keep up with the sensible eating and drinking. I think they'll be very good for you."

"Believe me, Doctor," Jarrod said, "I want nothing to do with falling over in the courtroom again. I might not be able to keep up with the physical work, but I will keep my habits changed."

"Good. I'll want to check you out again in about six months, just to be sure you're still on the right track."

Once Jarrod was dressed, Dr. Merar opened the examining room door and the two of them went back into the waiting room. "I promise to be good," Jarrod said.

And then the door from outside opened, and a man came in. A young man, not as tall as Jarrod and more gangly. He was alone. He said, "Which one of you is the doctor?"

"I am," Dr. Merar said. "Do you need me?"

"My brother does," the man said. "I couldn't bring him in. He's done gone and busted a leg. I had to leave him out at our place. Can you come?"

"Let me get my bag," the doctor said and went back into the examining room.

Jarrod eyed the newcomer – and he didn't like what he saw. He had just seen that face on the sheriff's wall. This was one of the Woolsey brothers, wanted for armed robbery and murder. Jarrod's mind began whirling. He couldn't let the doctor go with this man. "I don't think we've met before," Jarrod said. "Are you new in the area?"

The man named Bill Woolsey nodded once, looking uncomfortable.

"Where is your brother?" Jarrod asked.

"I don't think that's any of your business," Woolsey said.

"I was only asking because it sounds like you might need some help moving him," Jarrod said. "I can come along with the doctor."

Woolsey shook his head. "Not needed."

Jarrod said, "He's not a young man."

Dr. Merar came back out with his bag – and Bill Woolsey drew his gun. "I don't have time for this. I need the doctor, and I don't need you."

Jarrod was startled Woolsey had pulled his gun, but not surprised. "You fire that gun in here and you'll never get out with the doctor," Jarrod said, trying to sound calm even though Woolsey had the gun pointed at his gut.

Dr. Merar tried to stay calm, too. "Is it really a broken leg your brother has? I have to know what to bring."

"He's shot," Woolsey said. "In the leg, bad."

Jarrod said, "Let me come with you. You shoot me here, and you'll never get out with the doctor. Take me with you, I can help."

"You can help yourself to some reward money," Woolsey said.

"Wait," Jarrod said. "I won't do anything except help the doctor. As long as you have him, you know I'll cooperate. I can help if you let me go along." Jarrod suddenly thought he'd just said the dumbest thing in the world, but he was scrambling for a way not to get shot, and to keep the doctor safe.

Woolsey hesitated. Jarrod considered going for the gun.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

_Jarrod considered going for the gun_.

Dr. Merar said, "I have to get my horse from the barn."

"I have a horse for you," Woolsey said. He looked hard at Jarrod. "I don't have one for you."

Jarrod expected to get shot and dove for the gun, but Woolsey smashed the gun down on the back of Jarrod's head. Jarrod went down in a heap.

Woolsey bent to hit him again.

"Kill him, and I'll go nowhere with you," Dr. Merar quickly said. "I mean it, son."

Woolsey straightened up. "Let's go."

"I want a quick look at him," Dr. Merar said and bent down to where Jarrod lay on the floor. He was moving slightly, moaning slightly.

The doctor only got a fast look before Woolsey yanked him up. "You come with me and behave yourself, and you'll live through this," Woolsey said.

Dr. Merar went with him. Woolsey kept his gun on him, but hidden in the pocket of his coat. Dr. Merar wasn't about to risk a shooting in the street – anyone could get hurt, so he did as he was directed, mounted the grey horse Woolsey took him to, and the two of them rode off.

Inside the doctor's office, Jarrod began to get up as soon as the door closed behind Woolsey and the doctor. At first, he didn't remember what was happening. He touched the back of his head and came away with blood. He didn't understand, but once he looked around and saw where he was, he remembered. He got up as fast as he could, his head spinning, and he stumbled out the door.

Woolsey and the doctor were gone.

Jarrod felt weak-kneed and caught himself on the hitching rail. A man came up beside him. "Mr. Barkley, are you all right?"

"Get the sheriff," Jarrod said.

People started coming toward him. Before he knew it, Jarrod felt the sheriff coming up beside him. "Jarrod – what happened?" the sheriff asked.

"One of the Woolseys," Jarrod said. "He said the other one was shot and he took Dr. Merar with him."

"Get inside here," the sheriff said and took Jarrod back into the doctor's office. He put him in a chair in the waiting room. "Not half an hour back in town and you're in trouble again."

"No, the doctor is," Jarrod said. "I'm all right. I'm gonna get my horse and go with you."

"So you can pass out on the road instead of in the courtroom?!"

"I'm all right. It's just blood."

"From a knock on the head. Sorry, Jarrod, you stay here."

Jarrod shook his head. "I'll just follow you, Fred."

"You do and I'll arrest you the minute we get back into town."

"Then I'll risk it."

Jarrod got up and went out the door, the sheriff fuming behind him. Blotting some of the blood out of his hair with his handkerchief, Jarrod headed for the livery stable. He heard the sheriff order someone to go tell the doctor's wife Iva what was happening. His head hurt, but he was steady on his feet now, and he heard it very clearly when someone said they saw the doctor had ridden a grey horse out of town. The man with him was riding a chestnut, and they were riding down the road that headed toward the Barkley ranch.

Jarrod hustled up the street to the livery stable and was soon riding out – where he promptly ran into Sheriff Madden, mounted and waiting for him in the street. "As long as you can stay in the saddle I'll take you," the sheriff said. "You're faster than rounding up a posse. But you pass out and you're on your own."

Jarrod nodded, and said, "I'm not dizzy or anything. I won't pass out."

"Sure, sure," the sheriff said. "At least we'll be headed to your place if you do."

The sheriff led the way, and he and Jarrod were soon out of town.

XXXXXXXX

Dr. Merar knew the countryside very well – he had traveled enough of it over the years. He knew Woolsey was taking him down the road toward the Barkley ranch, but they never quite got that far before Woolsey led him off the road, down a small side path that looked like a deer trail. This place was new to the doctor. He didn't even know there was anything down this path, and it wasn't long before he found out there wasn't anything down there but a small clearing and a creek. In that clearing, he saw the man who had to be this young man's brother.

The boy was younger than his brother, writhing on the ground with his bunched up coat under his head and a blanket across his torso but mostly moved aside from his leg. It was easy to see this leg injury was very bad. They had wrapped a tourniquet around his thigh, above the wound. Dr. Merar quickly dismounted and got down beside the boy. In a moment, he found the torn spot in the boy's pants and he tore it open further.

"Start a fire and boil some water," Dr. Merar said. "Do it now!"

Bill Woolsey bent by the place they had started a small campfire before. Although there was no flame left, there was still some life in the coals. He stirred them, added some kindling and then some larger branches they had set aside already.

Then Dr. Merar began to clean the wound with alcohol, and Jeff Woolsey screamed.

Bill Woolsey stopped what he was doing, came to his brother, and shoved his wallet into Jeff's mouth. "Bite on that. It'll help." Then he went back to the fire. Once it was going reliably, he grabbed a small pan, put water in it, and put it on the fire.

Dr. Merar looked the wound over and sighed. "What's your name?" he asked Bill Woolsey.

"I'm Bill, he's Jeff," Woolsey said, intentionally leaving out the last name.

"How did he get shot?"

"That don't matter," Woolsey said.

Dr. Merar sat back on his heels. "I'm not gonna sugarcoat it. This is a very bad wound. It's avoided the main arteries and veins, but it's still bled a lot, and the bullet looks like it shattered when it hit the bone. The flesh is all chewed up near the wound, and getting the bullet particles out is going to take more than we can do here. I need to get him back to my office before I try to fix this."

"No," Woolsey said. "You fix it here."

"I can't!" the doctor said. "This is going to require a lot of digging and the conditions here are not sterile and the light is appalling! I won't be able to see to get it all! And your brother sure isn't gonna want to be awake for all this. If I'm gonna save this leg, we have to get him back to my office."

"No," Woolsey said again. "You fix it as best you can."

The doctor sighed. "Where do you live? If we can get him there – "

"You fix it here," Woolsey said one more time.

Dr. Merar stood up and looked Woolsey straight in the face. He spoke quietly so Jeff would not hear. "I can't fix it here. He will bleed to death if I try, and if he doesn't, it won't be long before he either loses the leg or contracts gangrene. I don't know who you are or what you've been doing, but even if I get him somewhere that I can properly tend to this, even if I get every particle of bullet out, he's not gonna have the proper use of this leg again. You best give up whatever game you're playing and let me get us somewhere where I can save your brother's life."

The water on the fire was starting to boil. Jeff was moaning and crying. Woolsey said, "You do what you can for now. Then we'll see."

Dr. Merar looked back at his patient, and then at Woolsey again. "I can give him something for the pain."

"Don't knock him out," Woolsey said.

Dr. Merar nodded. "It'll help, but it won't do the job. He'll still hurt a lot."

"He's hurt a lot before," Woolsey said.

Dr. Merar tried to think of what he could do out here in the middle of nowhere. He hadn't yet checked to see if the tourniquet had cut off the blood flow so bad that he'd ultimately have to take Jeff's leg anyway, and he wasn't about to tell Woolsey if it had. He put a plan together as fast as he could. He pointed to the water at the fire. "Let that come to a rolling boil for a couple minutes, then bring it to me. I'm going to have to get a scalpel out of my bag. It's a cutting instrument. I'm not going to threaten either of you with it, but I have to use it to treat your brother."

Woolsey nodded.

Dr. Merar bent beside his patient again, where he'd left his bag on the ground. He took out the scalpel and a clean cloth. He cleaned the scalpel with some alcohol, being stingy with it because he knew he was going to be running low on it. Jeff Woolsey moaned and cried, but kept biting down on the wallet.

Dr. Merar took out some scissors and opened the pant leg up even further. Then he removed the tourniquet, cleaned the wound more with a little more alcohol that made Jeff cry even more, and checked the leg to see if the lack of circulation had damaged things very badly.

Then he sighed. Between the wound and the use of the tourniquet, it didn't look much like he was going to be able to save this leg. He remembered seeing wounds like this during the war and sawing off limbs like they were just pieces of wood. Piles and piles of discarded arms and legs, torn apart by minie balls and shrapnel. Arms and legs that looked just like this one.

Dr. Merar knew he couldn't take the leg here. He had to get this boy back to his office or the kid was going to die. He might die anyway before they could get there. But he felt Woolsey watching, and he knew he had to try something if only for appearances, because Woolsey would kill him. He had to play for time and hope he could make Woolsey understand how serious this was.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Dr. Merar had no idea if anyone was coming after him. He didn't know yet if anyone even knew he was gone, because Jarrod was still on the floor when Woolsey took him out. He hoped Jarrod was not unconscious and had gone for the sheriff. He hoped somebody, anybody, had seen him leave with Woolsey and noticed where they'd gone. But then there was that barely visible deer trail they had followed in here. Who was going to notice that?

And what was going to happen to this kid on the ground in front of him? When the water came to a boil, Dr. Merar gave it a few minutes to cool and used it to more thoroughly clean the wound. He had given Jeff a mild painkiller, and the boy had settled down a bit, but he was still awake. The doctor was worried about trying to dig around in his leg with the boy still conscious. He tried stalling as long as he could.

But Bill Woolsey said, "What are you waiting for? Get that bullet out."

"I told you," Dr. Merar said, "it shattered. I can't even see all of it in this light. He stands a good chance of getting gangrene if I don't get him to my office before I work on this leg."

Woolsey finally looked like he was believing that. He took a deep breath, looked all around. Dr. Merar could see him thinking.

"Bill – " Jeff said weakly.

Woolsey bent down beside his brother. "What?"

"You get on out of here and let the doctor take me to his office," Jeff said.

Woolsey shook his head. "No."

"I'm gonna die, Bill," Jeff said. "I'm gonna die and they're gonna catch you and hang you, if you don't take off."

"No," Woolsey said again.

"Please, Bill," Jeff finally said.

Woolsey stood up, looking around, trying to think. "We only got two horses," he said.

"That grey will hold your brother and me," Dr. Merar said. "Help me get him in the saddle, and you go wherever you want to go. Let me get Jeff back to my office."

Bill Woolsey still hesitated.

"Get outta here, Bill," Jeff moaned.

Woolsey made up his mind. "Get your stuff together," he said to Dr. Merar.

Dr. Merar did as he was told, and in a few moments, they had gotten Jeff up and were lifting him into the saddle. Dr. Merar mounted up behind him and put his arms tight around him. Jeff was sagging badly. Dr. Merar could tell something ugly – this kid had been suffering for some time, dealing with blood loss and shock. Jeff might have been right when he said he was going to die. Maybe he knew.

Bill Woolsey kept a hand on his brother for a moment. "I'll come get you," he said. "One way or another, I'll come get you."

"Go on," Dr. Merar said. "I'll get him back to town and do the best I can for him."

Woolsey climbed up on his own horse and left, riding downstream in the middle of the creek. Dr. Merar wasted no time in taking the deer trail back out to the road, deeply relieved, at least for himself. He was safe at least for now, but he knew his patient wasn't.

XXXXXX

Jarrod and the sheriff had followed down the road out of town but took it slowly and carefully, looking for tracks. The problem was, they didn't know which tracks belonged to Woolsey and the doctor, and they were beginning to fret by the time the both spotted it at the same time – two sets of tracks leaving the road and moving off onto a side trail, narrow as a deer trail.

"This might be them," Sheriff Madden said.

Jarrod nodded. "I can't imagine anybody going off here unless they were trying to hide."

"Let's check it out," Sheriff Madden said.

Still moving slowly, they started off into the brush. They were scarcely a quarter mile in before they heard the animal coming toward them. They stopped. Before they had time to worry, they saw the grey horse, and they saw Dr. Merar holding Jeff Woolsey in the saddle in front of him.

Dr. Merar stopped, too, then felt relief wash over him. "I have to get this boy to my office," he said. "He has a bad leg wound."

"Is this the brother?" Jarrod asked as he and the sheriff got turned around.

"Yes," Dr. Merar said. "The other brother took off down a stream, about half a mile behind me."

"It'll be impossible to track him," Sheriff Madden said.

Jarrod nodded. "Let's get the doctor safely back to town, and see if he can do anything for this one. We can worry about the other one later."

They got to the Stockton road and moved faster back into town, where they all went into the doctor's office together. Jarrod carried Jeff into the examining room himself – the kid was not tall or heavy, and with his increased muscles, Jarrod lifted him easily. By the time Jarrod put him down on the table, Jeff was unconscious.

Jarrod looked at the wound and knew it was dreadful. Dr. Merar quickly got his stethoscope out and checked the boy's heartbeat – and slumped. "This boy is dead," he said. "I thought I had a chance if I could get back here and take the leg, but the blood loss and the shock – I don't know how long he was lying out there after he was shot. It all must have been too much."

The doctor sat down heavily into a chair. Jarrod knew he was frustrated and heartbroken. It didn't matter to him who a patient was. He always wanted to help, and this time he hadn't helped.

"These boys were both wanted," Jarrod said.

Jarrod wasn't surprised at all when the doctor shook his head and said, "I still wish I could have helped him." Then he looked up at Jarrod and said, "You, sit down in this chair and let me have a look at the back of your head."

Dr. Merar got up and Jarrod took his place in the chair, saying, "It's nothing. It bled a little but I never lost consciousness. Just got a little confused."

"Let me clean it up for you," Dr. Merar said. "You don't need an infection."

Jarrod let him tend to him, knowing it would help him cope with the fact that he couldn't do anything for this Woolsey brother on the table. He tried not to wince or even move when the doctor took alcohol to the cut, but it stung too much.

"This isn't bad," Dr. Merar said. "Not even very big. You'll heal in a few days."

Jarrod asked, "Do you have any idea where that other brother might have gone?"

Dr. Merar sat down in another chair. "No, but we may not need to know. He said he'd come back for this one here."

That alarmed Jarrod. What would that other Woolsey do if he found out his brother was dead? "Doc, you're gonna need protection. There's no telling – "

"I know, I know," Dr. Merar said, cutting him off. "Bill isn't going to be too happy."

The sheriff came in then, saying, "I got all the horses stabled. How is he, Doc?"

"Jarrod's fine," Dr. Merar said. "This boy Jeff here is dead. Who were they, Sheriff? Do you know?"

Sheriff Madden nodded. "Woolsey brothers, wanted for armed robbery and murder. I just put the poster up in my office this morning."

"The doctor just told me that the other brother said he'd come back for Jeff," Jarrod said. "You're gonna need to have somebody here to keep the doctor safe from him. I'll see if Nick can spare a man or two to help. And you better spread that wanted poster around town."

Sheriff Madden nodded. "I'll get the printer to make some. I better send the undertaker over here, too."

Jarrod got up. It was past noon, and he had never made it to his office. "I want to come give you a statement, Fred. Do you mind if I go touch base with my secretary first? Somebody probably already told her where I'd gone, but I better let her know I'm all right."

"Just come over as soon as you can," Sheriff Madden said, and he looked down at the dead boy on the table and shook his head. "Fool kids."

Jarrod looked at the doctor, who was standing beside Jeff Woolsey, just looking at him. "Are you all right, Doctor?" Jarrod asked.

Dr. Merar nodded. "Losing a young patient is nothing new for a doctor. I wish I could have saved him, though, no matter what kind of boy he was."

"You look after yourself," Jarrod said. "Trust me, it's awfully unsettling to know someone you don't want might be coming your way."

The doctor smiled a little. "At least it's not you he'd be after this time."

Jarrod chuckled at memories of being taken care of by the doctor after he'd been attacked by men – usually ex-convicts – who were out to get him. "You'd be much better at taking care of me than I would be at taking care of you."

Dr. Merar gave him a pat on his muscled right arm. "At least now you could lift me up."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Jarrod accomplished what he needed to with the sheriff and was comforted by the sheriff finding someone to stay with the doctor for the next 24 hours, but when he went by his office he told his secretary everything that had happened and went home without putting any time in. Tired when he got home, he almost headed for the scotch, but then he caught himself. It was only four o'clock. He decided he'd wait until the family was together.

"Oh, you're home," Victoria said when she came down from a nap. "What happened? Are you done in already?"

Jarrod took a deep breath. "Done in, but not at the office. I ran into a large problem when I was seeing the doctor."

Victoria looked frightened, then steeled. "What is it?"

Jarrod realized she had misinterpreted. "No, it's not that, I'm fine. The doctor gave me an excellent report, but as I was leaving his office, someone came in, someone on Fred Madden's wanted wall."

"Oh, my heavens – "

"He slugged me on the back of my head and abducted Dr. Merar," Jarrod went on. "I'm all right – just a little blood. Fred and I went after them. This fellow took the doctor because his brother had been shot. Well, the long and the short of it is the man got away, the doctor brought the brother back to town, and the man who took the doctor promised he'd be back for his brother. But by the time the doctor got him to town, the brother was dead."

"Is Dr. Merar all right?"

"Yes, but I'm not sure what will happen when this guy finds out his brother is dead. I need to talk to Nick about letting a couple men help in guarding the doctor for a while." Jarrod poured himself some water, then turned and kissed his mother. "So, I did not have the day I planned to have."

"And neither did Dr. Merar," Victoria said. "What was the name of these men?"

"Woolsey," Jarrod said. "Bill Woolsey is the one still alive. They were wanted for armed robbery and murder."

"I guess then you won't really be getting back to your practice until tomorrow."

"I'll want to check with Dr. Merar and with Fred when I get into town on the morning," Jarrod said. "Hopefully, nothing will happen to the doctor tonight. I can't tell you how I'd feel if anything happened to him."

Victoria knew well that of all her sons, Jarrod had the most dangerous temper, although thank heaven not the quickest. And now he had the muscles to be even more threatening. "Keep yourself under control, Jarrod."

Jarrod understood what she was saying and why she was saying it. "Don't worry, Mother. I will, no matter what."

When Nick and Heath came home and Jarrod told them what was going on, Nick quickly nodded and said, "Yeah, I can spare a couple men. If the sheriff can cover the doctor till morning, I'll send in somebody for the afternoon and somebody for overnight. We sure can't have anything happening to our doctor."

"My thought exactly," Jarrod said.

"Otherwise, you're okay?"

"Fit as a fiddle."

"Will I get my shirt back anytime soon?" Heath asked.

Jarrod smiled. "As soon as I can get a couple of my own. The doc says I'll probably keep these muscles for a while, even if I'm not working the ranch as much."

"Just don't forget you promised me weekends," Nick said. "That's the only way we can all be sure you won't overwork yourself on the law again."

"Except when I have to be in San Francisco or elsewhere, Nick, on weekends, I'm yours."

"Better get me a couple new shirts then," Heath said. "It doesn't look like I'll be getting mine back."

XXXXXXX

In all his years of practice, Dr. Merar had never been the subject of a threat like this. True, people had been angry when the outcome for a loved one was not what they wanted it to be, but the doctor had never treated one of a pair of wanted brothers, and he'd never endured knowing when he lost one of them that the other would be coming back, expecting his brother to be alive. It was worrying enough to make him want to hide out in his home for a few days, but he knew he could never do that. Not a day went by that someone didn't need him for something, almost always an innocent person hurt accidentally, or someone with a potentially life threatening disease, or a woman having a difficult birth. He could never, never turn away from someone who needed him, even if it meant going out alone in a world where someone might be after him. To kill him.

For tonight, he was tired enough that the need for sleep overwhelmed the worry. Morning and sunlight came, and no one had bothered him for any reason at all. He got up, cleaned up, shaved and dressed and went downstairs, from his living quarters into the office as usual. Sheriff Madden was already waiting outside the front door. Dr. Merar let him in. His deputy, Henry, was with him.

"Morning, Doc," Sheriff Madden said as the doctor let him in. "You doing all right?"

"Just fine, Sheriff," the doctor said. "Good morning, Henry."

Henry wished him good morning.

"Henry's been out front here most of the night, and I'm gonna leave him here with you until I can talk to Jarrod Barkley and find out if he can have anybody come in from the ranch to look out for you," Sheriff Madden said. "And don't go arguing with me that you don't need anybody."

"Oh, I won't, Fred," Dr. Merar said. "I'm not exactly a strong young man anymore. I know when I need help."

"Good," the sheriff said.

But the doctor said, "But I don't think Woolsey's brother will be here today. I think he'd want to give things a little time, and give his brother time to recover a bit."

"If he hasn't somehow found out already that his brother is dead," the sheriff said.

"I don't know how he'd have found that out, and if he did, I think we could expect him to take off in another direction, not come here."

"Don't go looking for sense or logic out of a couple young armed robbers," Sheriff Madden warned. "You know better than that."

"Yes, you're right, I do," Dr. Merar admitted.

Jarrod Barkley came in the door just then, and smiled to see the gathering. "Here I was afraid you'd be alone," Jarrod said. "Good morning, gentlemen."

"Morning, Jarrod," Sheriff Madden said. "Are you going to be able to help us out with someone to stay with the doc?"

"Yeah, Nick is sending someone out after lunch this afternoon, and he'll be relieved by somebody else overnight," Jarrod said. "We'll keep that up as long as we need to. Can you have somebody here in the mornings?"

"Henry can be here about sunup until a bit after noon," Sheriff Madden said. "And doc, if you get pulled out on a call, I want your guard to go with you. I'll get somebody to stay with Iva while you're gone."

"Then it sounds like we have you covered, Doctor," Jarrod said. "I'll be in the office every day for a while. I've got work to catch up on, but you call on me if you need me."

Dr. Merar nodded. "I'll do that, though I don't think I'll need to. I thank you all for looking after me, but I hope you don't have to do it for long."

Jarrod and the sheriff left, walking together toward their respective offices. "Maybe I can get some actual work done today," Jarrod said.

"I wish we knew if that Bill Woolsey was really gonna come back for his brother," Sheriff Madden mused.

"I think he will," Jarrod said. "He was worried enough about Jeff to pop me over the head to get the doctor out of here."

"You got a good look at him before he hit you?"

"Oh, yeah, I know what he looks like. I'll know him if I see him again. But something concerns me."

"What?"

"What if he hooks up with somebody else and sends them in to reconnoiter? Somebody we don't know?"

Sheriff Madden sighed. "That would be a problem. But I can think of a bigger one. What if he sends in somebody we DO know and don't suspect?"

"Well, you told the doctor to be sure to take his guards with him if he goes out on a call," Jarrod said.

The sheriff suddenly stopped, and Jarrod stopped with him. "I think I'll run back over there and warn them to tell me or you if the doc gets called out."

Jarrod nodded. "That's not a bad idea."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"_What if he sends in somebody we DO know and don't suspect?"_

What the sheriff had said was stewing around in Jarrod's mind all morning, especially after Dave Milton came in. Dave was a longtime friend who had a sixteen-year-old son named Donnie. Jarrod had defended Donnie on a shoplifting charge a year earlier, but Dave had not come in to talk about him. Dave's wife was about to have their fourth child, and he had never made out a will, despite years of nagging by her and by Jarrod. Today, he wanted to start the process. It was not going to be complicated. Since he didn't have too much of a backlog of work, Jarrod thought he could have the draft will completed by the next day. Dave went on his way and everything was fine.

So why did Jarrod feel like everything wasn't fine?

Because of what the sheriff had said, and because Donnie's history was blemished.

Jarrod got the draft completed and handed off to his secretary to type up just before lunch. "I'm going to go get a sandwich at Harry's, Angie," he said.

She gave him a funny look. She knew about his change in drinking habits.

"Don't worry," he said. "Just a sandwich, no liquor."

Angie smiled.

Jarrod headed over to Harry's and was surprised to find Heath there, also eating a sandwich and drinking a beer. Jarrod fetched a sandwich and a large glass of water, and sat down at his brother's table. "Brother Heath. I didn't know you were coming into town."

"Neither did I," Heath said, somewhat startled to see the glass of water but then remembering Jarrod no longer drank alcohol this early in the day. "But it turns out Nick needed a couple wires sent about a deal for cattle, and he didn't want the details spread around too far, so he asked me to come in. And since I was coming in, I volunteered to guard the doc. I'm about to head over there."

"He should have had me send the wires off – or does he want to keep the details from me, too?"

Heath chuckled. "No, he just forgot he was supposed to do it and didn't remember until he pulled a note to himself out of his pocket, but we were out with the herd by then, so here I am."

"I'm just as glad," Jarrod said, took a bite of sandwich and washed it down. "There are a couple things I ought to tell you. If the doc gets called out, go with him and let me or Fred know where you're going. Fred will have somebody stay with Iva."

"Okay," Heath said.

"And be careful. Fred and I got to talking about this Woolsey guy and his plans to come for his brother. It might not be Woolsey himself who turns up. He might send somebody else."

"Somebody we don't suspect."

"Maybe even somebody we know. I got to thinking about Donnie Milton, for instance."

"Donnie? He hasn't been in any trouble lately, has he?." Heath finished his sandwich and his beer.

Jarrod said, "No, thank goodness, I haven't even seen him for a while, but he'd be just the type to get duped into helping Woolsey. Just be on the lookout for anybody who wants the doctor out of the office."

"And let you or Fred know where we're going," Heath said and started to get up. "Okay. I better get over there. Is there anything else I should know?"

"Yeah," Jarrod said. "Make sure whoever comes to relieve you knows what to do and what to look for. And you look out for yourself, too. This guy Woolsey pounded me over the head, remember?"

"Yeah," Heath said. "I'll be careful. See you at home tonight."

As Heath hustled off, Jarrod finished his sandwich and water, but he was still thinking and not liking what he was thinking. Harry came over and refilled his water glass, saying, "I guess you're not gonna risk any more fainting spells, huh, Jarrod?"

Jarrod could finally chuckle about his episode in the court that sent him on that long vacation. "A man only gets so many warnings in life, Harry. We better pay attention to them when they come along."

"Are you giving up the liquor for good?"

"No, just cutting way back and saving it for later in the day. Sorry about cutting into your business at the same time."

"Not to worry. I'd rather have you alive and buying a sandwich than dead and buying nothing. I heard you say that Woolsey kid popped you over the head when he took the doc out yesterday."

Jarrod nodded. "I'm all right. What we're worried about is Woolsey coming back."

"I saw the sheriff has put posters up all over town."

"Good. Look out for anybody fishy, though, okay? I'm not sure Woolsey will come in himself."

"He could send somebody else."

"He could, and once he finds out his brother is dead, we don't know what he'll do."

"If he's smart, he'd high-tail it out of here, but those bad kids aren't always too smart."

Jarrod finished his meal and got up. "No, they're not. I need to get back to work. Take it easy, Harry, and if you do see anything fishy, tell the sheriff or me, all right? We're gonna have men staying with Dr. Merar for a while to make sure he's protected."

"All right. It's good to see you back, Jarrod."

Jarrod nodded. "Thanks, Harry. It's good to be back."

XXXXXXXX

The day went fine for everyone. The doctor was called out while Heath was with him, but it was to a broken leg at a nearby ranch. Heath notified the sheriff and went along, but it was a routine call and he and the doctor were back in town before Heath's relief came along. The only snag was that Heath was late getting home for dinner.

Jarrod and Nick were playing pool in the library, their mother and sister watching, when Heath finally came in. "Well, looks like we can stop worrying," Jarrod said.

"You weren't really worried, were you?" Heath said. "I told the sheriff the doc was called out."

"He told me," Jarrod said, "but I almost stayed in town until you got back."

"This thing about the doctor does have you worried, doesn't it?" Victoria asked.

"Yes," Jarrod admitted.

"You think that Woolsey kid is coming back," Nick said.

"I don't know. I'm afraid he's going to send somebody else," Jarrod said. "Somebody we know and trust. THAT has me worried."

Heath headed for a glass of whiskey. "Don't let it. We got the doc well protected. He ain't worried."

"That's good," Jarrod said.

"Get back into worrying, and you'll find yourself passed out on the courtroom floor again," Nick warned.

Jarrod didn't like the sound of that, but he had to admit to himself that he was falling back into an old habit that helped get him into trouble before – he was not letting go of concerns he should be leaving at the office. "You're right," Jarrod said and went back to the game of pool. "If I get back into one bad habit, it'll lead me right back into the others. I'll work on it." He sank the ball he was aiming at and moved around the table for another.

Heath started out the door, saying, "I'm hungry."

"Silas has food in the warmer for you!" Audra called after him, and then got up. "I think I'll keep him company." And she followed him out.

"Make sure you tell all the men you send in that they are to let the sheriff or me know if the doctor is called out and they should go with him," Jarrod said.

"You already told me that," Nick said, watching Jarrod sink another ball.

"Let it alone, Jarrod," Victoria said.

Jarrod missed his next shot and stood up straight. "I'm doing it again already, aren't I?"

"You are," Victoria and Nick said in unison.

Nick sank his shot and won the game.

Jarrod reached into his pocket and gave Nick a dollar coin. "I suppose if I lose enough money to you because I'm not concentrating on the game, I'll learn my lesson."

"We'll start a sin tax for you," Victoria said. "I'll have Silas put a jar in the living room, and every time you bring up another worry, you put a penny into the jar."

Nick grinned. "Make it a dollar, Mother. Old Moneybags here really needs to learn his lesson."

Victoria smiled. "A dollar it is."

Jarrod gave in with a grunt. "I'll have to work twice as hard just to earn the sin tax."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Jarrod stopped by the doctor's office on the way into work the next morning. Henry the deputy was back, perched in the waiting room with a newspaper. The doctor was nowhere to be seen. "Morning Henry," Jarrod said. "Is the doctor down yet?"

"About twenty minutes ago," Henry said. "He got a patient right off. They're in the treatment room."

"Anybody we know?"

"That Donnie Milton kid."

Jarrod felt like he had touched an electric wire.

Henry went on. "Kid looked like he fell and landed on his face. Said he fell off his horse."

Jarrod sensed some doubt out of Henry. "What do you think?"

"I don't know," Henry said. "It looked to me like somebody beat him up, but fall off your horse and land on your face, and it could look that way too. We'll see what the doc says."

Jarrod knew Dave Milton was coming in for his will today. He remembered his idle worry about Donnie yesterday, but he never dreamed his concern might really come true, especially so fast. There was a back way out of that treatment room to the recovery room, and from there you could go out the back door to the alley, where the doctor took patients to get them out privately. The problem was, if somebody wanted to take the doctor out quietly, he could do it the same way.

Jarrod thought about knocking on the treatment room door, or at least listening at it, but before he could move, the door opened, and Donnie Milton came out with Dr. Merar right behind him. Jarrod breathed a sigh of relief.

Donnie had bruises and cuts on his face, just like a man could get if someone had beaten him up, but falling and landing on your face could do the same thing. "Hey, there, Donnie," Jarrod said.

Donnie stopped. "Oh, hello, Mr. Barkley."

"I hear you fought with the ground and lost," Jarrod said.

"Yeah," Donnie said.

"How have you been otherwise?" Jarrod asked.

"Fine," Donnie said. Then he said good-bye and went out the door onto the street.

"Morning, Jarrod," Dr. Merar said.

"May I have a word?" Jarrod asked. Seeing Donnie had sent him worrying again.

"Sure, come on in here," the doctor said and ushered him into the treatment room. "Are you doing all right, or do you need my expertise?" Dr. Merar asked as the closed the door behind them.

"I'm fine," Jarrod said. "Just a bit concerned about Donnie there."

"Oh, he'll be all right."

"That's not my concern. I got to thinking yesterday that Bill Woolsey might not come into town himself, that he might send somebody else to scope things out with you. And Donnie would be just the kid he'd send."

"Oh, I don't think so," the doctor said.

"Did he ask about Jeff Woolsey?" Jarrod asked.

"No," the doctor said, thinking about it. "Not directly. He asked me if I knew anything about all the wanted posters going up around town."

"What did you tell him?"

The doctor shook his head. "Nothing. But Donnie asked if I had any patients here. I told him no. And they were burying Jeff Woolsey as Donnie came into to town. He asked me if I knew who had died."

"What did you tell him?"

The doctor began to look worried. "I just said yes but didn't say who. I didn't say anything more."

Jarrod knew there was no way he could fetch his horse from the livery and catch up with Donnie. He couldn't even be sure of where Donnie was going, but with Dave Milton coming in, he could ask about the boy. Still – "I think you've just been sized up, Doc. Could you tell if he really fell off his horse or if he was beaten up?"

"No," the doctor said firmly. "I had to take him at his word. You think Woolsey somehow got hold of the boy and beat him into coming here?"

Jarrod sighed. "I've got no idea, but I think I'll go over to get the sheriff. He needs to know about this."

"All right," the doctor said, and it was clear now that he was getting nervous.

Jarrod smiled. "Don't worry, Doc. We've got you covered," he said reassuringly.

The doctor smiled a little, feeling genuinely relieved but still uneasy. Being under this kind of threat was just something he was not used to.

Jarrod hurried over to the sheriff's office but did not find him in. Deciding he might be on morning rounds, Jarrod went looked for him and found him coming out of one of the general stores. "Fred!"

The sheriff stopped and saw Jarrod coming toward him. "Morning, Jarrod. Is something up?"

"I'm not sure," Jarrod said. "Donnie Milton just came in to see Dr. Merar. Face all beat up, but he said he fell of his horse, and I think he got enough information from the doctor and from seeing Jeff Woolsey being buried to know what was going on there."

"Why should that worry you?"

"I got to thinking more yesterday about how Woolsey might not come into town himself. He might get somebody to come for him."

"And you think he got hold of Donnie and beat him into running the errand for him?"

"Or Donnie did it willingly and Woolsey beat on him to have some reason for him to go to the doctor. He'd be just the kid to fall in with Woolsey. Did you see Donnie at all?"

"Yeah, I saw him a couple minutes ago riding out of town," Sheriff Madden said. "It looked like he was heading home. Maybe I ought to head out there."

Jarrod checked his watch. "I have his father coming into the office in about half an hour. Instead of chasing Donnie around yet, why don't you come over and we'll talk to him? Maybe he'll know something helpful."

"All right. But we do have the doc covered for the day, right?"

Jarrod nodded. "Henry's there now. Nick will have somebody come in right after lunchtime to take over."

The sheriff nodded. "I'll go talk to the doc, tell him what we're doing. That ought to ease his mind somewhat."

"I'll check in with the doc after lunch, make sure our man made it in," Jarrod said.

The sheriff nodded again. They had a plan.

XXXXXXXX

Jarrod went to his office, greeted his secretary, and got Dave Milton's will from her. He looked it over and it was fine, just what Dave wanted. His entire estate would go to his wife or be put in a trust for his children if she predeceased him. Pretty simple. Dave Milton came in just as Jarrod was finishing his review.

Jarrod shook hands with the man and took him into his inner office, saying, "This won't take long, Dave, but I do want to talk to you about something after you sign this. The sheriff is coming over and he and Angie will witness your signature."

Dave took Jarrod's word, because he couldn't read. He gave it all a look-see though and asked if it did what he wanted. Jarrod assured him that it did. At that point, Jarrod opened the door to the outer office and saw the sheriff coming in.

"Just in time," Jarrod said. "I need two witnesses for a will."

Sheriff Madden and Angie came in. The sheriff greeted Dave, then he and Angie watched Dave make his mark – something like a long straight line with a slash through the middle. They signed as witnesses, and everything was done. Jarrod excused his secretary, and she closed the door behind her as she went back to her desk.

"I'll file this with the Register of Wills, Dave, and you'll be covered right away," Jarrod said.

Dave stood there, looking uncomfortably at Jarrod, then at the sheriff. "What else did you want to talk about?"

"Donnie," Sheriff Madden said. "Did you know he came in to see Dr. Merar this morning? His face was all busted up. He said he fell off his horse."

Dave sighed, as if relieved and embarrassed at the same time. "No, I didn't know. I haven't seen Donnie for more than a week."

Jarrod invited Dave and the sheriff to sit down, and they took the chairs in front of Jarrod's desk while he took his own chair. "What's happened between you?" Jarrod asked.

Dave looked at the sheriff again. "Is Donnie in trouble?"

"He might be," the sheriff said, "but not in any legal trouble, at least not yet."

"We think he might have been beaten up," Jarrod said, "and we think he might have fallen in with somebody that will get him into trouble."

Dave sighed again. "I've been afraid of that. I didn't want to bring it up, Mr. Barkley, but – should the sheriff be here if we're gonna talk?"

"Donnie isn't charged with anything," Sheriff Madden said. "I'm hoping to keep it that way."

Jarrod said, "If you're uncomfortable, the sheriff will leave, but right now it's all right to tell us what's going on. If I think it's starting to be against Donnie's interest or yours, I'll stop the conversation and the sheriff will leave, but right now, we're worried about Donnie and we want to keep him out of trouble. Honestly, Dave, that's what we want."

Dave sighed one more time. "Yeah, me, too."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"Me and Donnie had a row," Dave Milton said, looking embarrassed about it. "Stupid thing now that I look back on it, but since you got him out of trouble, Mr. Barkley, I've had him do certain chores around the place and over the last couple weeks, he's quit doing them. Been disappearing for parts of the day. I let into him and he let into me and he walked out, and I don't know where he's been or what he's been up to. That's one of the reasons I wanted to do the will. If anything was to happen to Mary and me, I don't want him running off with everything and leaving the other children high and dry."

Jarrod nodded. "Smart move, but there may be some smarter ones we can talk about later. For now, let's just try to figure Donnie out."

"What do you think he's into?" Dave asked.

"Have you seen the wanted posters around town, on the Woolsey brothers?" the sheriff asked.

"Just did, just now," Dave said.

"Bill Woolsey kidnapped the doctor yesterday and took him to help his brother Jeff, but Bill got away and by the time we got Jeff into town, he was already dead," the sheriff said. "So, Bill's out there on his own but doesn't know Jeff is dead."

"On his own?" Dave asked. "You don't think Donnie's gotten himself hooked up with him, do you?"

"We don't have any evidence of it yet," Jarrod said. "It's just that when the doc took charge of Jeff and Bill ran off, Bill said he'd come for Jeff. We're concerned Bill might hook up with someone to come do the looking for him, and Donnie would be the perfect one for him to hook up with. We all know him, we wouldn't be suspicious."

"Except you are," Dave said.

"Bill and his brother are wanted for armed robbery and murder," the sheriff said. "Bill is a dangerous man."

Dave looked stricken. "What do I do? I don't know what to do. I don't know where Donnie is."

"There might not be much you can do, other than try to patch things up with him and bring him to me if he comes home."

"He said he fell off his horse, but Bill Woolsey might have beaten up on him, to get him to come in or just to give him an excuse to go to the doctor," Jarrod said. "Either way, if he's with Bill, we need to get him away."

"Do you have any idea where he might have taken Bill Woolsey if he's hooked up with him?" the sheriff asked.

"Oh, he had places he went, people he saw," Dave said, "but I just don't even know them. He'd just disappear."

Jarrod and the sheriff looked at each other. They felt for Dave, especially since he didn't know anything about what his son was up to, and neither did they. It just looked like Donnie was in trouble and nobody knew how to help him.

"We can't just comb the countryside for him," the sheriff said.

Jarrod shook his head. "It looks like we just wait, keep the doctor covered, and see who turns up."

"And take care of it," the sheriff said.

Dave said, "Oh, please, don't hurt Donnie. He may be a troublemaker, but maybe this ain't all his fault, maybe he's got nothing to do with this Woolsey. And he's my oldest. Please, don't hurt him."

The sheriff smiled. "We're gonna do our best not to and to see this all comes out good for him, Dave. But if you see him or you hear anything about him, you have to help us. You have to let us know as fast as you can."

Dave Milton nodded and rubbed his forehead. The sheriff and Jarrod looked at each other again. They both fervently hoped that Donnie wasn't involved with Woolsey, but they worried he was.

XXXXXXXX

As promised, Jarrod went back over to the doctor's office after grabbing a sandwich for lunch. Henry was still there – the man that Nick was going to send out hadn't gotten there yet. Henry popped up out of his chair when Jarrod came in, then looked unhappy. "Oh, sorry, Mr. Barkley. I thought you were my relief."

"He'll be along anytime," Jarrod said. "You can go on if you need to, Henry. I can stay with the doc until help comes."

Henry grabbed his hat, saying, "Thanks. I do have to get back to my job. Doc?!"

The doctor came out from his office, saw Jarrod and smiled.

"I'll be leaving now, Doc," Henry said.

"I'll stay with you until somebody else comes," Jarrod said. "I don't have much on my plate today." As Henry went out the door, Jarrod said, "I haven't built my workload back up since that month-long vacation you had me take. I assume you haven't heard anything more from Donnie or from anybody who seemed threatening?"

"No, it's been a quiet morning," Dr. Merar said. And then he sighed. "Maybe this all has been a tempest in a teapot and we won't be seeing Bill Woolsey again."

"If Woolsey were smart, he'd be long gone from here," Jarrod said. "But I don't think he's particularly smart."

Suddenly, a man came in the door, out of breath. Both Jarrod and the doctor recognized him as a man named Farrell, someone who worked at the Belleview ranch. "Doc, we need you right now," he said. "The boss's horse stumbled and fell over on him. The boss looks real bad."

"I'll go with you, Doc," Jarrod said right away. "Farrell, go right over to Sheriff Madden and tell him where we're going, all right? Then meet us at the livery."

"All right," Farrell said and went back out the door.

Dr. Merar went for his bag and his coat, and in a moment he was back. "I have my horse out back in the barn," he said.

Jarrod said, "Mine's at the livery. Let's go get yours and then get mine together. I don't want to leave you alone even for a minute."

The doctor called upstairs to his wife that he was going to the Belleview ranch, and then he and Jarrod went to the barn out back. Dr. Merar saddled up and then followed Jarrod as he hustled to the livery stable for his own horse. Farrell met them there and In minutes, they were headed out of town.

They both figured the call was legitimate, not a ruse put out there by Woolsey, but they were barely two miles out of town before they found out differently. Farrell suddenly kicked into a faster pace and moved far out ahead of them – and Bill Woolsey came out on horseback from the trees off the side of the road. His gun was drawn and pointed right at them.

Right idea, wrong accomplice, Jarrod realized. If Donnie was involved, he wasn't anywhere around now. It was Farrell who had led them into this.

"You let my brother die," Woolsey said.

"He died because he didn't get to me soon e – "

Woolsey shot the doctor without another thought. Dr. Merar crashed down from his horse as Woolsey moved to shoot Jarrod. Jarrod dove fast off his horse, out of the way, drawing his gun, but Woolsey's horse shifted and Jarrod landed on the ground right next to him. Risking getting kicked, Jarrod swung his gun at the front legs of Woolsey's horse. The horse reared, screamed, and Woolsey went down. Avoiding the hooves, Jarrod scrambled toward Woolsey, but Woolsey hadn't lost hold of his gun. They fired at each other, both of them on the ground.

Woolsey was hit and his gun went flying. His horse was still upright. Desperate, Woolsey grabbed the lead, got up into the saddle and took off. Jarrod was fine, and as he scrambled to his feet he took another shot but missed. Woolsey was gone.

And Dr. Merar needed help. He was down in the road. Jarrod ran to him and supported him as he tried to get up. There was a large patch of red on the upper right side of his chest, but he kept saying, "I'm all right, I'm all right."

"No, you're not," Jarrod said. He quickly fetched the doctor's bag from where it hung from the horn of his saddle, and in moments he had a wad of bandage on the wound and the entire shoulder wrapped around and around on top of the doctor's coat and shirt. "I'm getting you back to your office," Jarrod said.

He thanked the doctor for his extra muscles as he lifted the man up into the saddle. The doctor was slumping, but he nodded to Jarrod. "I can make it."

Jarrod got back up onto his horse, and together they took a slow walk back into town. It took nearly half an hour, but the doctor told Jarrod to take it slow so the jostling didn't open the wound further. As soon as they got to town, people came running, frantic at the sight of the only town doctor injured. Jarrod got Dr. Merar to his office and eased him out of the saddle there. By now the doctor couldn't walk. Jarrod didn't wait for help. The extra muscles came in handy again, and he just lifted the doctor and carried him into his office as the sheriff came to open the door.

"Iva!" Sheriff Madden called as Jarrod got the doctor into the treatment room and laid him on the table there.

Jarrod removed the bandage and was getting the doctor's coat and shirt off as the doctor's wife came in.

Iva Merar was not a doctor or a nurse, but she had assisted her husband enough to know how to do some basic things, and she had removed bullets before. She was also very calm in emergencies, even this one that involved her husband. She looked at the wound and then caressed her husband's face. "Darling, this has to come out."

Dr. Merar smiled. "I don't doubt you can do it just fine," he said. "Jarrod – "

Jarrod came closer.

"Can you assist?" Dr. Merar asked.

Jarrod nodded. He'd seen plenty of bullets removed before, even removed one or two himself.

Then Iva and Jarrod got to work. The sheriff went out into the waiting area just in time to see Nick Barkley come in, looking perplexed. "What's going on?"

"The doc's been shot," Sheriff Madden said. "His wife and Jarrod are working on him in there. What are you doing here?"

"I was coming in for supplies and was planning to be the doc's guard for the next few hours," Nick said, worried seriously. "What happened?"

"I'm not really sure. I saw them ride out of town with somebody, but nobody came to tell me that he was being called out, like they were supposed to," the sheriff said. "Until I can talk to Jarrod, I won't know who it was came for them. My best guess is that whoever came for the doc was taking him to Bill Woolsey."

"Jarrod's all right?"

"Yeah, he's just helping Iva."

Then they both alternately stood there and paced. The newspaper editor came running in at one point, anxious for the story. The sheriff only told him that the doctor had been shot and they didn't know any more than that yet. After twenty minutes or so, Jarrod came out of the treatment room, drying his hands on a towel.

"How is he?" the sheriff asked quickly.

"Iva's finishing up," Jarrod said. "He looks like he's gonna live, but his right arm is out of commission for a while."

"Was it Bill Woolsey?"

Jarrod nodded. "That fellow named Farrell from the Belleview ranch came in to fetch the doc, saying his boss was hurt. I told Farrell to tell you we were going out, but I'll bet he didn't tell you, did he?"

"He didn't," the sheriff confirmed. "And now I'll bet anything he's not going back to the Belleview ranch."

"We have to go after Woolsey," Nick said.

"It was about two miles out on the south road. I shot him, but it didn't look bad – just an arm wound," Jarrod said. "He took off toward the south. We best get a posse together, Fred."

"Not 'we,'" the sheriff said. "Somebody needs to stay with the doc. Woolsey might circle back."

Jarrod nodded. "Nick, I'll stay here if you can go with the posse."

Nick nodded. "I got an order at the mercantile you can pick up for me after Ross gets here about five. But are you sure you want to stay here? I can stay if you want to go with the posse."

Jarrod shook his head. "I'd rather stay with the doc. We can't be sure Woolsey won't come back here. And if he does come back, I want to be the one with the doctor."

Nick nodded. "All right I take Jingo? He's right outside."

Jarrod said, "Go ahead. He hasn't been ridden hard."

Nick said, "Let's go, Fred," and they left.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

After Nick and the sheriff left, Jarrod went back into the treatment room. Iva was bandaging her husband's wound – Jarrod was just in time to help lift him a bit so she could get the last of the bandaging done. When it was finished, the good doctor lay there with his right chest, shoulder and arm bandaged, to keep the area where the bullet had come out immobilized. The doctor was still under the anesthetic.

Iva went to the sink and washed up, and it wasn't until then that she let herself cry. She had her back to Jarrod, but he could see her shoulders shaking. He went to her, took her by the shoulders. She turned and buried her head in his chest, shaking, crying silently.

"You did a fine job," Jarrod said. "I'm sure he's gonna be all right."

"Oh, I'm sure, too," Iva said. "It just finally hit me. Jarrod, what was this about? What happened?"

"That boy we brought in dead yesterday," Jarrod said. "His brother found out the boy had died, and he blamed the doctor. I just went out with the doc when he'd gone on the call he yelled up to you, but it was a ruse. The dead boy's brother was waiting for us. He shot the doctor before I could do a thing."

"I know you'd have prevented it if you could have," Iva said, and she left Jarrod's arms to go to her husband. She caressed his face. "I don't know what Stockton's going to do for a doctor for the next few weeks. It's going to be a while before he can use this arm."

"I know somebody in San Francisco who might help us out until the doctor is back on his feet. Can I take him into the recovery room? The bed there is a lot softer."

Iva chuckled a little. "You're showing off those muscles you built up over the last month."

Jarrod smiled. "I have the doctor to thank for them. He might as well get the benefit of them."

Iva nodded. Dr. Merar was a big man, but thin, and Jarrod had no trouble lifting him and carrying him to the bed in the recovery room. Once they got his boots and pants off and they pulled the blanket up to his neck, he began to stir.

"Tom?" Iva said softly.

Dr. Merar didn't say anything, but he smiled.

Iva caressed his face again, leaning close and smiling. "You're going to be all right, Tom. You rest."

Dr. Merar pursed his lips for a kiss, and Iva gave it to him. Jarrod smiled.

XXXXXXX

The posse formed, and within an hour or so they were at the spot where the tracks in the road told them something had happened here very recently. Nick dismounted and took a really close look, saying, "There's some blood here. Jarrod said he hit this Woolsey fellow and the kid then headed south." Nick pointed to a set of tracks going that way. "This must be him."

"There's blood over here, too," one of the posse members said.

Nick came over and looked. There was a lot more blood here than where he first saw it. "The tracks from here go back to town. This must be where the doc was hit."

"Let's get moving," the sheriff said.

Nick remounted, and the posse started heading south, but it was only a few miles before they saw the tracks change direction. They had turned and were heading back to Stockton.

"But we'd have seen him," one of the posse members said.

Nick shook his head. "Not if he heard us first. He could have cut off into the brush and we missed him. Fred, I think he's gone back to Stockton again. It's stupid as hell, but I think he's done it. Maybe he was hit worse than Jarrod thought and needs help."

"He shot the doctor," the sheriff said. "He ought to know he won't be getting any help in Stockton."

"Maybe he's not hurt that bad and he's gonna try for the doc again," another member of the posse said.

"That's even more stupid," Nick said.

"But the tracks lead back to Stockton," the sheriff said. "Let's follow them and see if they go all the way."

XXXXXXX

Jarrod did not leave the Merars and did not plan to leave them, even after his relief from the ranch arrived. If the posse returned without Woolsey, he would be even more reluctant to leave. He didn't know why he thought Woolsey was still a threat, but he did.

Stupid, stupid kid. That was why Jarrod thought he was still a threat. Everything the kid had done was stupid, from beginning an armed robbery career to waiting too long to get help for his brother to abducting the doctor – twice – and then shooting him. Whatever the stupidest thing to do was, Woolsey would probably do it. And coming back here for another try at the doctor – whom he had already shot - was about as stupid a thing as he could do.

Jarrod sat down in the waiting area, in a spot where he could see both the front door and down the hall to the back door. Iva Merar was staying with her husband, and it was getting on toward five o'clock when she came out, looking exhausted. Jarrod stood up. "How is he doing?" Jarrod asked.

She nodded. "He woke up. He remembers what happened, and he made perfect sense, but he was in a lot of pain so I gave him a little laudanum. He went back to sleep."

"I'll be staying, even when my relief comes, even if the posse gets back with Woolsey in tow."

Iva smiled. "You don't need to do that, Jarrod."

"I know I don't," Jarrod said, "but the doctor's helped me many a time, almost all of my life. The least I can do is return the favor. Besides, you're going to need some help if he gets feverish."

"He doesn't show any signs of that yet," Iva said. "If it happens, it will probably start overnight."

"And I'll be here," Jarrod said.

Iva gave him a quick hug. "You Barkleys have always been a godsend, but now you're going above and beyond. I'll never forget this, Jarrod."

Jarrod gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Why don't you get some rest while the doctor is resting? You'll need it if he does get feverish."

"You need it, too."

"I have my comfortable chair right here. You go on upstairs to your room and lie down for a while. I'll look in on the doc now and then, and if anything urgent arises, I'll come get you."

Iva left wearily, heading down the hall and climbing the stairs to their living quarters. Jarrod sat back down again, closing his own eyes for a while. As strongly as he felt there was going to be trouble tonight, he felt like it wouldn't be because the doctor developed a fever. Maybe he believed too much in the doctor's invincibility, but the feeling was strong that he'd be all right, but Woolsey would be back. Soon. Jarrod wanted Iva out of the way, just in case his feelings were right.

It wasn't Woolsey who came through the front door and jolted Jarrod out of drifting off. Jarrod came up fast, going for his gun – but then he saw it was Nick, who stopped, startled. Jarrod relaxed, left his gun in its holster, and rubbed his eyes. The light was dimming outside. "Did you get him?" Jarrod asked.

Nick closed the front door. "No. But we tracked him back here."

Jarrod wasn't even surprised. "You think he's in town?"

"The sheriff has men looking around for him, but it's starting to get dark. He wanted me here with the doc. How's he doing?"

"All right, last I checked," Jarrod said and got up. "Let's have another look."

They both went into the recovery room and found the doctor sleeping comfortably. Jarrod put a hand to Dr. Merar's forehead.

"Fever?" Nick asked.

"No," Jarrod said. "He's doing fine. Iva did a terrific job. She's upstairs getting some rest." Jarrod checked his watch. "Is your man coming in?"

"Yeah, but as soon as he does I'm gonna send him to the mercantile for those supplies I ordered and send him home," Nick said as they quietly left the room again. "It's you and me tonight, Pappy. If Woolsey is back in town and tries to get to the doc again, we can handle him."

"Stupid, stupid kid," Jarrod said. "If he had any brains he'd be halfway to Modesto by now. He needed a doctor himself."

"Kids aren't always smart," Nick said.

They went back into the waiting room to find Nick's relief man coming in the front door. They both started for their guns, but then stopped. The Barkley hand looked surprised but not frightened. "It's only me, boss," he said.

"I don't need you to cover here, Ross," Nick said, "but I do need you to go pick up the supplies I have at the mercantile. I left the wagon over there. Take them home and tell my mother that the doctor's been hurt and Jarrod and I are staying here tonight."

"Ross, tell her not to come in," Jarrod said. "She'll want to, but tell her Iva has the situation under control and there's still a danger from this guy Woolsey. We don't want her getting in the way."

"All right," Ross said. "Good luck." And he turned and left again.

Then the Barkley brothers stood looking at each other before Nick said, "Why don't I go fetch some food and bring it back?"

"Bring enough for Iva, too," Jarrod said. "And be careful. We're really losing the light. If Woolsey is coming back, it might be soon."

Nick headed for the door. "If he's coming back, let's hope Fred and the posse find him before he gets here."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Nick ran into Fred Madden on his way over to the café to fetch some food. "Any luck, Fred?" he asked even before the sheriff reached him.

Sheriff Madden shook his head. "Not yet. If he's here, he's hiding. How's Dr. Merar?"

"Pretty good, no fever," Nick said. "Jarrod and I will stay the night with him and Iva, in case he turns bad or Woolsey shows up."

"Trying for the doc again would be the stupidest thing that kid could do – so he'll probably do it."

"That's what Jarrod's afraid of. I'm gonna fetch some food for us at the café. Then I'll be back over at the doc's for the night. Let me know if you find Woolsey, will you? It would ease big brother's mind a lot."

"I will," the sheriff said, and he went on his way.

Nick got food and coffee at the café and brought it back over on a tray. When he got to the doctor's office, Jarrod saw him coming, looking through the window in the door. Jarrod opened the door for him, and Nick brought the food in. "I saw Fred," he said as he sat the tray down on the small table in the waiting area. "No sign of Woolsey yet."

Jarrod grunted. "Iva came down. She's checking on the doctor."

Nick began to pour coffee. "Why don't you tell her we've got dinner?"

Jarrod nodded and went into the recovery room. Iva was washing her hands there. She had lit a small lamp in the room, and Jarrod saw the doctor still sleeping. "How's he doing?" he asked.

"The same," she said. "No sign of fever yet."

"Nick has come with supper for us. You need to come get some food."

Iva nodded, and Jarrod held the door open for her. In a few minutes, she was eating dinner with Nick and Jarrod in the waiting room. It was getting darker outside, so Jarrod lit some lamps. They ate in silence, each one of them listening as the light outside faded into darkness. They were all listening for Woolsey, and hoping he didn't come.

After they finished, Iva said, "I'm going to sit with Tom for a while. He might be waking up soon. I don't want him to be alone, because if I know him, he'll try to get up."

"Give a yell if you need us," Nick said. "Do you want some more coffee?"

Iva shook her head as she got up and went toward the recovery room. "I might make some later," she said as she opened the door and disappeared.

Jarrod poured more coffee for himself and for Nick. That emptied the pot. "It's been a while since you and I pulled indoor night guard together," Nick said.

Jarrod remembered when. "Heath with that head injury he got when that horse he was breaking threw him into the corral fence. I still can't believe he took a hit that bad."

"I thought he'd broken his neck."

Jarrod sipped his coffee and chuckled a little. "We're gonna need another doctor until Doc Merar comes around, just to take care of Heath alone. That boy is accident prone."

Nick chuckled, too. "At least he never tried to break a horse when he had a broken leg himself."

"All right, all right," Jarrod said when reminded of his own foible. "My common sense deserted me there for a while. But you and Heath alone keep Dr. Merar in business."

"You think he's gonna be okay?"

"If he gets through the night without a fever, I think he'll be fine. I'm worried about that arm, though. That he might not get the use of it back. He's not a young man anymore."

Nick said, "What are we gonna do for a doctor around here? Even if he recovers, it's gonna take a while."

"I know," Jarrod said. "I'm gonna wire a doctor I know in San Francisco, see if he can come here or if he can send somebody else. We should have somebody in a few days."

They talked for a while, were silent together for a while, talked some more. Nick thought he ought to take the dishes back to the café, but Jarrod asked him to wait until morning. It was dark now, and if Woolsey was coming, it would be in the dark. Stockton street lights were pretty good, but there were still plenty of dark spots Woolsey could use to get here and surprise them. Jarrod felt better having Nick there just in case that happened.

It was close to nine o'clock when the sheriff came by to check on the doctor and told them that no one had found Woolsey and they were going to suspend looking for the night. "The men on the posse are tired, and there's too many places a man can hide at night," he said.

Jarrod and Nick both understood. "It would help if you can get somebody to cover the outside here, Fred," Jarrod said. "If Woolsey is coming, he'll do it tonight. Seeing somebody out there might change his mind."

The sheriff nodded. "I'll go round somebody up. You two keep your eyes open in the meantime."

Nick saw the sheriff to the door, and as he closed it, he turned toward his older brother and asked, "How do you want to do this? Maybe I should be outside until Fred gets somebody here?"

Jarrod said, "I'd rather – " And then he stopped.

"What?" Nick asked.

Jarrod took a look down the hall, toward the back door – and he drew his gun. "The back door's opening," he said quietly. "Go out the front, circle around, come in behind him – but be careful of crossfire. Hurry up."

Nick went out the front door, closing it quietly behind him. He spotted the sheriff not a block away and whispered sharply, "Fred!"

The sheriff turned. Nick waved him over, pulling his gun, and started for the back entrance to the doctor's office. The sheriff pulled his gun and followed.

Jarrod had put himself at the entrance from the waiting room to the hall, where he could see the back door but was shielded by the wall. It was dark and tough to see, but Jarrod could see the door open slowly, quietly. He waited. He could see a silhouette, backlit by the streetlights outside. The figure came in slowly, quietly, with a gun drawn.

"Stop right there," Jarrod said, and knew without thinking that this was Woolsey and that stupid kid would start firing. And he did.

Jarrod ducked back as bullets went by him. But then suddenly he heard Nick's voice yell, "Woolsey!"

Jarrod looked, saw Woolsey turn to face the door and start shooting. Jarrod saw Nick and the sheriff, also backlit by the streetlight, as they ducked back for cover. "Put it down, Woolsey!" Jarrod yelled. "Now!"

Woolsey turned and took another shot at Jarrod, then turned toward the back door and fired once more. Jarrod took his shot. He didn't care he was shooting Woolsey in the back. Woolsey went down hard in the hallway. Nick and the sheriff came in as Jarrod hurried to the kid's side, muttering, "Stupid, stupid." Jarrod shoved the boy's gun away and checked for breathing. "He's still alive."

Jarrod got Woolsey into his arms and took him into the treatment room. About then, hearing the shooting stopped and Jarrod's voice in the hall, Iva came out of the recovery room. Nick nodded her toward the treatment room, and in a moment she was in there, lighting lamps as Jarrod put the Woolsey boy face down on the table. Nick and the sheriff stood in the doorway, watching, until men appeared both at the back door and in the front door. The sheriff waved them off, saying, "Keep people back. It's Woolsey. Make sure he doesn't have any help somewhere out there."

Iva took a close look at Woolsey, saw where Jarrod's bullet had hit him straight in the middle of his back. The kid was slightly awake, but Iva shook her head and told Jarrod, "This is too much for me to handle. I can't help him."

Jarrod nodded and leaned close to the boy. "Woolsey, you shot the doctor. He's not here to help you."

Inexplicably, Woolsey began to laugh softly. Jarrod wondered if Woolsey thought he had killed the doctor, but he never really knew. Only a moment later, Woolsey stopped breathing.

Jarrod looked up at Nick in the doorway, still holding Woolsey's gun. "Can you go get the undertaker, Nick?"

Nick handed Woolsey's gun to Jarrod, and he left to get the undertaker.

Iva shook her head. "Foolish boy. Why do they have to be so foolish as this?"

Jarrod touched her shoulder, giving it a soft squeeze. He didn't have an answer for her.

XXXXXXX

Jarrod and Nick both stayed the night with the Merars, just in case Iva needed help with the doctor. Fortunately, the doctor did not develop any fever at all. The undertaker came and took Woolsey away. No one was able to locate anyone who might have been working with the boy. By morning, except for having no doctor in town, Stockton was getting back to normal.

Jarrod sent a wire off to his doctor friend in San Francisco, and as he and Nick were leaving the telegrapher, Heath rode into town, leading Nick's horse with him. Nick had forgotten he'd come in the day before in a wagon that Ross took home. "I thought you might be needing Coco," Heath said as Nick took the lead from him. "How are things around here?"

"Better," Jarrod said. "Woolsey tried to get to the doctor last night, but we stopped him, and he's dead."

Heath nodded, not exactly surprised at the news. "How's the doc?"

"No fever," Nick said. "Looks like he's gonna be all right."

"It's gonna take a while," Jarrod said. "I just wired to San Francisco to see who we can get to cover for him. I don't know how soon you'll bust yourself up again."

Heath gave a laugh. "So are you boys ready to come home?"

"You go on," Jarrod said. "I want to go see Iva once more, and I'd better check in at my office before Angie comes looking for me."

"Come home early," Nick said as he mounted up. "You've been up all night, and we don't need you passing out in public again. The doc can't help you."

"I'm all right," Jarrod said. "Expect me home by lunchtime."

As Nick and Heath rode off, Jarrod headed back to Dr. Merar's office. Iva met him as soon as he came into the waiting area, smiling, saying, "He's awake."

Jarrod went into the recovery room and gave the doctor a smile. "How are you feeling, Doc?" he asked and came closer to the bed.

"Iva won't let me get up," was the first thing Dr. Merar said

"You better listen to her," Jarrod said. "She's running the show for now, and we don't need you doing like I did, passing out in front of everybody."

"Thanks for your help, Jarrod," Iva said. "Thank Nick for me, too."

"I will," Jarrod said. "I've wired a doctor friend in San Francisco to get somebody to cover for you while you're laid up, Doc. You just get well – maybe build up some muscles of your own." Jarrod flexed an arm to show off.

Dr. Merar chuckled a little. "I see an arm wrestling contest in our future."

"Don't be ridiculous, dear," Iva said, perfectly seriously.

And both men laughed. It felt very good.

The End


End file.
